Experts Warn That Demand for Fossil Fuels Could Peak a Decade Earlier Than Predicted

PEAKING EARLY Experts have long predicted that global demand for fossil fuels will peak in the mid-2030s as renewable energy gains prominence, but a new report warns that the transition could come a decade earlier — and that the economic fallout could be catastrophic. “Fossil fuel demand has been growing for 200 years, but is about to enter structural decline,” said Kingsmill Bond, a strategist for the think tank Carbon Tracker and an author of the report, in an interview with the Guardian . “Entire sectors will struggle to make this transition.” RISK AND REWARD The good news is that the global energy system is tipping toward solar and wind power, according to the report, led by emerging markets in China and India that are choosing sustainable energy over fossil fuels. But the period when demand for renewable energy overtakes fossil fuels will be perilous for financial markets, according to the Carbon Tracker report. In countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, where the economies are built largely on oil resources, it warned that declining demand could lead to tax revenue crises and social upheaval. FINANCIAL PERIL And while experts had previously predicted that policymakers would have another twenty years […]

Grant Brown is a passionate environmentalist, driven by a need to “leave it better than he found it”. This drive, combined with a capacity to understand power solutions of all types, helps him in his day job as VP Marketing at a start up clean technology company. His goal personally as well as professionally, is to help and inspire others to become a part of the green shift and to leave a positive legacy in the world.